Stark differences divide Ohio's GOP, Democratic legislative districts

During Statehouse debates, Republicans and Democrats often talk as if they’re from different worlds. In many respects, they are.

The difference in the demographics of Ohioans represented by Republican legislators versus those represented by Democratic legislators is stark.

Almost all wealthier, whiter legislative districts are Republican. A poorer, more racially diverse district is very likely to have a Democratic legislator.

That means legislators such as Rep. Jeff Rezabek are rare.

When Republicans moved quickly in 2015 to create a quasi-state takeover of the Youngstown school district, most Republicans supported it — but Rezabek did not.

The Republican from the Dayton suburb of Clayton agreed that something should be done with the troubled district, but he thought about the school districts he represents that face some similar struggles: Dayton and Trotwood-Madison.

“It wouldn’t be fair to our districts to have that takeover,” he said. “We still want local control. Having someone like myself representing a district (like this) and understanding that makes a difference.”

For Rezabek, representing his 43rd House District means keeping rural, suburban and urban viewpoints in mind. He has witnessed the surprise of GOP colleagues visiting his district and marveling at its diversity, from rural Preble County to parts of western Dayton and to suburbs of varying wealth and diversity.

Black residents make up 24.9 percent of Rezabek’s district; that's more than five times their share of the average House district represented by a Republican. More than a third of Ohio House districts —36 of them— have a black population of 3 percent or less, and Republicans represent 35 of them.

The 18 percent poverty rate in Rezabek's district is about 50 percent higher than that of the average GOP district, according to numbers compiled by the Center for Community Solutions, a nonpartisan think tank based in Cleveland.

“Districts like this are great to have because I think they make better legislators,” Rezabek said. “You have to be able to know the issue and talk on all points, and be able to listen to those on the opposite side of it. You have to be responsive to everybody.”

Most legislators are not in that situation. Consider:

• Republicans represent the 28 wealthiest House districts and just two of the 20 poorest.

• Of the 66 House districts held by Republicans, 11 have poverty rates higher than the state average. Among Democratic districts, it’s 27 of 33.

• Democrats represent the 15 House districts with the largest black populations and 24 of the 31 in which blacks make up at least 10 percent of residents.

>> Database: Ohio legislative district demographics

Whether it's guns, education, public assistance or other issues, public-policy debates are affected when members don’t have a good understanding of what people face outside their districts, including in central cities, said state Sen. Charleta B. Tavares, D-Columbus.

“Even though there are economically challenged communities in rural districts, it’s a different kind of challenge,” she said. “You’ve got more violence in the communities represented by Democrats. People don’t know that you have hundreds of thousands of people not doing negative things, but (who) are victims of the environment they live in.”

Homogenous districts, especially when they are not politically competitive, don’t force legislators out of their comfort zones, Tavares said.

Part of the stark divide is the nature of politics and population. As is common nationally, most of Ohio’s rural, white counties lean Republican, and much of Ohio’s black and Latino population is concentrated in and around Ohio’s eight largest cities.

The situation is enhanced by political gerrymandering, in which majority Republicans drew legislative districts to their benefit.

In Franklin County, for example, Republicans control four of 10 House districts. Those also are the four wealthiest districts in the county, with median household incomes that average 42 percent higher than those in the six Democratic districts. The average Republican district in the county is 5.8 percent black; the average Democratic district is 31.2 percent black.

Who you represent also can lead to very different perspectives within a party.

Rep. Mike Duffey, R-Worthington, represents a district that also includes Dublin. It is the third-wealthiest in the state and has the highest share of residents with at least a bachelor’s degree.

Duffey knows that when he talks about education funding, he doesn’t often generate sympathy in the Statehouse — joking about “the world’s tiniest violin playing for my districts" — but he emphasizes the strain of high taxes in the suburbs.

A high-wealth district “does not mean everyone in your district is universally higher wealth.”

Duffey doesn’t like the funding caps that prevent the school districts he represents from getting the state money they otherwise would receive under the funding formula. He mentions that more money doesn’t necessarily mean better results, and he notes how the taxes his residents pay subsidize other parts of the state in areas such as education and Medicaid.

“You’re not going to get a dollar back for a dollar paid in taxes,” he said of his constituents, adding that some colleagues in rural districts say, “I’d be happy to take your money and put it in my district where we can put it to better use.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Ryan Smith, R-Bidwell, has one of the poorest Republican districts and talks about education as a "pathway out of poverty."

At times, Smith said, he leaves Columbus thinking lawmakers have made good progress, but “then I drive home and realize how far we have yet to go.”

He laughed when recalling that, a few years ago, “shared services” became a buzzword at the Statehouse. “In my areas, if we didn’t do shared services, we wouldn’t exist.”

His region in southern Ohio has been dealing with an opioid epidemic for years, and when it began to enter the suburbs, “I was very familiar with the stories they’re telling, because we’ve been living with it and have less resources to fight it.”

Smith said he understands the concerns about the school taxes paid in the suburbs.

“But what may be hard for them to understand is they’re not a district that doesn’t have art,” he said. “They have five foreign languages, 20 or more advanced-placement classes. That’s great. But that’s not commonplace.”

House Minority Leader Fred Strahorn, D-Dayton, said lawmakers from differing districts can have similar goals, but the policies they support can be very different.

“If I’ve never spent a lot of time around poor people, I’m probably not really going to understand their issues,” he said. He worries when some lawmakers “talk about education as a business or a competition, as opposed to making sure a child is exposed to the things they need to be successful.”

Democrats represent 14 of the 15 House districts that have the largest use of food stamps.

But Tara Britton, director of public policy for the Center for Community Solutions, said the data also show that human-services needs are statewide. In 84 of the state's 99 districts, at least 20 percent of residents live on less than 200 percent of the federal poverty rate, or $40,840 for a family of three.

“You might know that some of your constituents have to use a food bank, but to have those hard figures in front of you is important,” she said.

Rep. Jay Edwards, R-Nelsonville, represents the second-poorest Republican-held district in the state and said that many of his constituents are fighting for basic needs.

He talked about coming from a strong family, but he said a number of kids have parents addicted to drugs, are besieged by poverty or are being raised by grandparents.

“We’re not fighting for German classes or these extras,” he said of his district's schools. “We’re trying to keep facilities working and provide a good education so kids in these poverty-stricken areas can go on to a prosperous time.”